Heavier storm expected
The National Weather Service reported that the wet weather is expected to continue through Wednesday, with gusty winds, heavy downpours and possible hail, tornadoes and waterspouts occurring in the coastal areas. Also, dangerous cloud to ground lightning could occur. The NWS also advises that if the stronger thunderstorms develop, there will be the potential for high intensity rainfall, bringing a significant risk for dangerous flashing flooding and debris flows, especially in recent burn areas.
The NWS reports that the storm, which has brought record rainfall to Southern California, is the result of a rare storm that comes through the area about once every 10 years.
Sunny weather is expected to return on Thursday.
Point Dume Charter School application goes to county
An application for the Point Dume Marine Science Charter School was submitted to the county Thursday last week.
The county Board of Education must hold a public hearing within 30 days of last week’s submittal of the petition, and make a decision within 60 days. Extensions are possible.
Sterling purchases Vital Zuman site
Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling purchased the Vital Zuman site last month for $2.35 million.
It is not know what he wants to do with the property. The site continued to operate as the farm by former owner Alan Cunningham.
Rain causes landslide, road closure on PCH
A nine-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway remains closed in both directions between Yerba Buena Road and Las Posas Road due to falling rock, boulders and mud caused by heavy rain, according to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. The closure will remain in effect until Wednesday, and reevaluated for further closure if necessary.
At 7:25 a.m. Monday the Sheriff’s Department reported that PCH was closed from Kanan Road to 4.4 miles south of Oxnard due to the landslide. At 8:10 a.m. PCH was reopened at Kanan Road.
Motorists are advised to plan alternate routes, such as Kanan Road, Decker Canyon Road or the 101 Freeway.
Malibu High has highest grad rates
The California Department of Education released the 2008-2009 graduation and dropout data for schools, districts and the state Dec. 7.
The data was determined partly by a new system called CALPADS, which assigns each student in California a Statewide Student Identification to track students as they transfer from school to school or district to district.
According to the data, in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, graduation rates decreased by approximately 2 percent throughout the district in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years.
Malibu High School has the highest graduation rate in the district, with 93 percent of eligible students graduating in 2009. The school with the lowest graduation rate is Santa Monica’s Olympic High School, the district’s continuation school, where 43.1 percent of seniors received diplomas in 2009. However, many students who graduated from Olympic High School do so in their fifth year, which is not recognized by the system. The average graduation rate for the state of California is 78.5 percent.
The increased dropout rate throughout the district could also be attributed to a larger number of “lost transfers,” or students who left a school and did not register in another school in California.
The number of “lost transfers” for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in 2008-2009 was 62.